Purple is the New Red

Fires erupted in Southern California this past week. From Ventura to Los Angeles and San Bernardino to San Diego first responders were stretched beyond all expectations. In affected portions of Los Angeles near Hollywood, some of the City's iconic palm trees burst into flames. The fires were whipped by dry Santa Ana winds reaching gusts over 80mph that pushed cinders widely and propagating more flames. Smoke from the fires was easily visible from space.

Evidence of 'signals' reguarding the influence of climate change on both droughts and irratic rainfall in California continues building. After 5 days, the December fires remained largely uncontained and the National Weather Service was forced to declare a new fire code: purple. This new NWS level of fire severity now indicates that:

"the affected area is under conditions so extreme that any fire could have extreme growth, burn intensely, and be uncontrollable".

The Santa Ana winds driving these recent fires are predicted to continue. The first responders wroking thoughout the Southland won't have time to unwind at the beach. They maybe on constant 'call' as the western states climate continues becoming ever more unpredictable.